Osteoporosis is a disease that gradually weakens bones and causes them to become brittle. Left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks. In some cases, osteoporosis can cause compression fractures in the spine. This occurs when the bony block, or vertebral body, in the spine collapses. This causes severe pain, deformity, and loss of height. It can also lead to nerve compression.
Balloon based vertebral augmentation is a procedure that involves making small incisions and placing a catheter into the vertebral space where the fracture is located. A cavity is created inside the bone (e.g. drilled) and a balloon is inserted. The balloon may be support by a guidance wire that is passed through a central lumen of the catheter. The balloon is then inflated with contrast medium until it expands to a desired height, deflated and removed. The balloon is used to compress bone and reposition the vertebral body and to create a cavity for cement. The cavity created by the balloon may then be filled with PMMA, binding the fracture. The balloon based vertebral augmentation procedure has the potential to restore height to the spine, thus reducing deformity and also providing pain relief.
However, the balloons utilized by vertebral augmentation balloon catheters are typically of a fixed size. Thus, to perform a vertebral augmentation balloon procedure, the surgeon must first select a balloon having an appropriate size for the vertebral body undergoing the procedure. A selection of an inappropriately-sized balloon may lead to unsuccessful result.